Translator's Notes: You'll notice that I changed the title to "Heart on Ice" because I realized that that made much more sense than "Heart Above Ice". XD So, sorry about that! Anywho, a special thanks goes out to chickygurl for helping me out with some of the words and phrases in this chapter. Enjoy!


I'm continuing it :P! Here I am again XD ready to continue with this idea, since I see that there are some other fans of Sokka/Suki, like me.

I feel very happy and thankful for all of those who have left me a review. Well, to detail: Thanks with all my heart for your lovely reviews, and I hope that I don't disappoint you all with this chapter ;) MANY THANKS TO: Angel-Lali, Mimiru, Aiko1504 and helium lost.

And… Calm down, my fellow Zutara shippers; I'm also a Zutarian at heart, so don't be surprised when you see that this fic will have some sparks between Sokka's little sister and the fire prince :)

Disclaimer: No, Avatar and Aang aren't mine, and I don't want them, as what I really want are Sokka and Zuko :P

Without any further delay, I'll leave you guys with this chapter, which I hope you'll enjoy XD


HEART ON ICE
By -Samara-Lestrange-
Translated by helium lost

Chapter 2. A Start

The delicate flower petals were bathed with the dew of dawn, and a piece of the moon still hung in the sky, fighting against the glow of the sun, which would soon rise. The tranquility continued to breathe through the streets of this part of the city…

The silence was especially sepulchral in this particular two-story house, which showed its dull, peeling paint, its garden untended, the powerless plants clinging close to the window, close to the ground.

The pale, early-morning light of autumn began to filter in through the window, illuminating the interior of the house, giving a bit of life to the sober colors of the teen's room.

The thin light was reflected off of the glass of a pretty pictureframe that sat on the bedside table as the blue-eyed teen continued to sleep peacefully, enveloped by his sheets and beadspread.

The minutes passed, accompanying the teen with its silence. It was the weekend; it should be illegal to wake up this early… The teen snored softly as he turned over on the pillow, his face planted on its smooth surface.

The squeak of the door made him frown as he continued to dream, without realizing that four paws had come secretly to the foot of his bed.

Suddenly, still dreaming, Sokka felt the rough weight on his stomach, accompanied by a characteristic bark. The teen practically jumped from the mattress when he felt a warm tongue passing over his face, filling his cheeks with drool…

"What the hell… Rezo?" he said haltingly, trying to push the dog, which was wagging its tail, from his bed. "Calm down, boy, I'm already awake…"

The animal sat on the bedspread before barking again, expectfully looking at his master, who was wiping the sleeve of his shirt over his face to get his pet's drool off.

"Why can't you respect the fact that it's Saturday, buddy?" said the teen, irritated, eyeing the enormous dog with reproach. The dog energetically wagged its tail. "Well, looks like that's a no…"

The teen looked at the dog with a mixed expression of confusion and annoyance before patting its head. "Today, I have to go shopping, Rezo… I don't think I can bring you with me; they don't let dogs into the supermarket."

Rezo looked at him with those heartbreaking black eyes, making Sokka smile at his attitude. "No, no, you're not going to get anything by looking at me that way… I'm not Katara."

His pet barked before jumping off the bed, giving the teen space to get up and stretch. He walked barefoot on the beige carpet until he came to his drawers and took out what he was going to wear that day.

"Rezo… Look, let me propose something. Right now, I have an appointment over at the university; I should go and see the captain of the martial arts team, because today, he'll give me the training schedule," explained Sokka, getting out a black T-shirt with white, Gothic letters emblazoned on the front and a pair of baggy jeans. "When I get back, we can go for a walk in the park if you want. Does that sound good? I can't miss that appointment; that Yamazaki is really demanding with his practices." The dog barked another time before leaving his room, going toward the kitchen, wagging his velvety tail, leaving Sokka alone as he prepared his clothes before he took his morning shower. The teen wrinkled his nose slightly, trying to contain a yawn as he stopped in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Definitely not, I can't miss today… even if I'm really sleepy," he said, subdued, before opening the door and beginning his shower.


The sun had risen and announced a beautiful morning. The streets began to fill themselves with the noise and tumult characteristic of this city. The tall and imposing buildings were raised, blocking out the rays of the sun.

The blue-eyed teen walked the trail for many minutes, concentrating on all the thoughts that crossed his mind. His hands were well-bundled in the pockets of his pants as he, with rhythmic steps, approached the university.

Light grumbles interrupted his walk, and all of them were from his stomach, which had already begun to complain about the lack of food. His refridgerator was as empty as his stomach was now… the only being in his house that had enjoyed a breakfast, like God had intended, was Rezo.

He continued a few more meters before finding himself again very close to the place where he had gone the night before. Kyoshi had already opened by now, inviting all to enter and have a delicious cappachino… but, sadly, he couldn't; he had to get to school… though he'd come later. The teen smiled, remembering the nice waitress who had attended to him.

"She said that her name was Suki Masagi…" he murmured, passing the local from a distance, but not without first glancing discreetly at the interior, looking for a certain brunette.

When he didn't see her, he felt a bit bad, and to try to pacify his feelings, he remembered that this place wasn't too far away from the skating rink. He thought for a few seconds before deciding to go on a different path.

He'd only be a few streets away from the university if he went to the skating rink… The teen smiled with melancholy, turning left instead of going straight on the street that would bring him to Shinoda.

This time, he said to himself, he wouldn't be late… he just wanted to go to remind himself of this good days, those memories of Natsuki; you really couldn't blame him… it was his way of starting the day.

He walked a bit faster through the streets until he saw the front of the enormous building that was the rink, and the overwhelming memories returned to him.

He entered, pushing open the glass doors, and breathing in the cold air of the interior… The building was, as usual, deserted… leaving him alone in the memories of his past. He walked, passing at a length the entrance to the locker rooms. His only objective this time was the see the ice for a moment, submerge himself in the oasis of peace mixed with the pain that this place offered him to start his day.

Today, as it was quite early, the rink was empty; not even those in charge of the rink's maintenance were there yet. Even all the lights were off, except the ones illuminating the ice of the rink.

Suddenly, a sound from the rink attracted his attention. It was the classic sound of ice being cut by the blades of skates…

"What…?" said Sokka, getting closer to the rink until he felt the cold air that was emanating from the ice, and in that instant, he saw the rink clearly… Someone else was there…

There was a young girl skating with a marvelous grace on the ice; she wore a pair of pants that fell very nicely on the curves of her legs and a pink sweater that stretched to accommodate the curves of her youthful figure; her chestnut-colored hair was gathered in a high ponytail.

Sokka slowly got closer to the rink, hoping to get a better view of the mysterious girl that continued to display her abilities.

She crossed delicately over the ice, stretching out her arms to maintain her balance. With every turn, the blades of her skates created a sound that, in other circumstances, would have broken his heart with memories. But, no… The finesse of her movements had hypnotized him.

The girl began to gain momentum before beginning to skate in reverse, lifting up her right leg until she managed to grasp it from behind with her hand, stretching her free hand before her to maintain control of her body as she continued crossing the empty rink.

She stopped for a moment before freeing her leg, then began to do various turns for warm-up.

Sokka remained where he was, examining and watching every turn and spin she did. She wasn't bad, not at all… She was very good; the girl had grace and a personality on ice, and this was without ignoring the beauty in every movement. She was like a fairy skating through a frozen forest.

He smiled unconsciously as he watched her skate with such perseverance. She had missed a landing, and now she repeated the spins various times, trying to improve every time. The teen noticed every one of the almost unnoticeable mistakes that she made, mistakes that were invisible to the inexpert eye, but, for him, the son of one of the national champions of ice-skating, they were very clear.

The minutes passed as she seemed to show that she would never tire of skating, and that he would never tire of watching her. Sokka felt a knot in his stomach as the memories tried to come back to him, and, warily, he kept his gaze on the pretty girl who was skating on the ice, confusing him with these feelings.

Suddenly, the girl decided to try a new move and quickened her pace, jumping up again and crossing a great distance, trying to spin in the air before she fell, but her body wasn't accustomed to this action and, unable to avoid it, she fell heavily onto the ice.

The blue-eyed teen kept still, in place, watching as the stubborn girl got up again, with her hair covering her face as she panted, trying to gain back her breath. She supported herself on the same ice that had made her fall.

It didn't take very long before she was back on her feet again. With her breath back, she began to turn again on the rink. Sokka continued to watch her… until, after countless minutes, she fell to her knees, exhausted.

She skated with her remaining energy until she reached the railing, pulling herself out of the rink. With tired steps, she walked to one of the seats closest to the rink to take off her skates… On the seat beside her, there was a backpack from which she took out her trainers.

She took off her skates, and promptly began to tie the shoelaces. When she finished, the girl rummaged through her backpack until she got out a bottle of water. She unscrewed the lid and drank half of it in one gulp. Her breathing was still a bit agitated, even though she had already finished skating.

Sokka couldn't resist it anymore. With a new bravery, he approached the girl, who had already put her skates back into her backpack. His steps resounded through the place, calling the attention of the girl. She was started to see him so close to him, and recognized him. Sokka, too, was speechless when he realized that he knew her…

"Good morning…" he said, almost in a whisper, seeing again the girl's beautiful eyes, now looking at him, surprised. "Masagi Suki, right?"

"Ehh… yeah, good morning," said the brunette, standing up from her place to fix her gaze on the teen. "Sorry, but aren't you the guy from yesterday…?"

"Yeah, I was at Kyoshi yesterday… Do you remember me? I'm Sokka Masahiko…"

"Of course… I remember you; it's just that I thought that I had confused you with someone else…" The girl smiled, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders. "And… What are you doing here so early?" she added, somewhat self-conscious with the idea that he had been here throughout her entire act.

"That's not important," Sokka said, continuing to look at her. "You do it really well."

"Do what?"

"Skating…"

"Oh… I see; thanks," said the girl, smiling.

"You skate really well for being just a beginner," he clarified, smiling, very aware of the lie that had slipped from his lips. Suki skated marvelously; she just needed to polish her skating a bit, but inside her, there was great talent.

The girl frowned and felt her cheeks heating up from anger as she tightened the cuffs of her sleeves.

"Hey! What do you mean by that? I know I'm not the skater of the year, but I'm not just a beginner, either…"

"Sorry, but I just said the truth. You need to improve, because some of your spins aren't that great, Masagi… You have to be more confident in your landing, in addition to the fact that you couldn't do the last turn…" said Sokka, enjoying this opportunity. It wasn't every day that he could correct someone in his or her skating form; he never could do it with Katara, because she never wanted to dedicate herself to the sport, like her mother.

"Well, sorry if I'm not good enough for your expectations, Masahiko." Suki stopped for a moment. "Sorry if I don't skate on your level," she murmured sarcastically, looking at him disparagingly, taking on a stubborn, defiant pose.

"Pardon me, Masagi… Since you're a girl, I'll make an exception; it's impossible that, being so young, you have the experience that years of skating gives," he commented, crossing his arms.

"Oh, so this is your other side, huh? I think that I made the wrong judgement about you yesterday—you are really just a chauvinist, just like the other boys at my school. But let me tell you that I can do anything a boy can do—maybe even better," she said, defending her position.

"Masagi, please, let's be honest—you're still lacking a lot before you can come to call yourself a 'skater'. I've been to many skating championships, and those women that I saw really know what skating is…" added Sokka, remembering those competitions which his mother had brought him to, along with Katara.

"I'm not a professional, this I already know, but I'm sure that you, Masahiko, don't even know how to put on skates. Everyone's a critic, but it's because they don't know what it takes to actually participate in the sport," she said, taking a step back from Sokka.

"You're wrong. It was just a constructive opinion, and it seems to me that it's very unprofessional that you don't take it, even if you're still too young to understand the magnitude of skating."

"Don't talk to me like this. I just barely came to know you yesterday, and now you already want to tell me how to skate after I've already been practicing for years? Do you want to criticize me? Well, first, you'll have to show me that you know what to do on the ice," she ordered.

"I don't need to show you anything," he said, realizing the course that this conversation was taking. "If you want to take my advice, well, that's good, and if not, it's the same to me. But you should try to transfer your weight more toward the front to guarantee a better landing, and when you land, you shouldn't separate your feet so much," he said, turning his back on the girl, who stared at him, astonished.

She stood there for a couple of seconds, looking at the strange person who she had just come to know. Finally, as she bit at her lower lip nervously, she came to a decision. Quickly, Suki adjusted her backpack on her shoulders before catching up with the boy.

"Wait!" she called out, running. It seemed to her as if Masahiko really did know what he was talking about, and that he really did know how to skate. Suki had never been able to pay for skating classes, and all that she knew, she had learned just from watching movies, watching the professional skaters, attending championships and other events on ice, but she never knew the feeling of having a teacher or a trainer…

"What?" he said, turning around to find himself face-to-face with her.

"Well, it looks like you do know how to skate, Masahiko, and I… Can I ask you something…?"

"That depends."

"I want to know if you can come tomorrow," said Suki, a bit hesitantly, but keeping her gaze fixed on the boy.

"For w hat…?" he asked, knowing all too well where the brunette was going with this.

"I wanted to know if you could help me out. I want to see if you really know how to skate and if you could help me with that spin…"

"What do I get from it?" the teen said tentatively. Although Sokka had, from the beginning, wanted to help her, he didn't want to finish this by losing on this deal.

"Well, I'm not asking you for classes or anything like that, I just want you to show me just what you brag about so much… Can I count on you to come tomorrow at seven? Of course, if you want, after we skate, I can treat you to a coffee…" said Suki, crossing her fingers inside the pocket of her pants.

The girl knew that although he wouldn't accept, she wouldn't feel bad; she would just have lost an opportunity to improve her skating.

"Hmm… tempting," said Sokka as he rubbed his chin. "Well, all right, Miss Masagi, you've got youself a deal."

"Well, impress me, yeah? I'll see you tomorrow," she murmured, leaving the boy and exiting.

"Taking it for granted, huh…" he said, watching as the girl left his sight. He remained alone in the rink for a few more seconds, before the alarm on his wristwatch went off, telling him that he should be in the gym in ten minutes.

"Damn, I'm late!" yelled Sokka, running to the door of the rink and leaving through it before throwing himself anew at the streets, running.


"Good morning, Sokka, how are you?" greeted a teen running a bit to catch up with him. He wore a pair of jeans and a shirt that had the university's logo on it. His hair was chestnut-colored and had a small ponytail in the back.

"Good morning, Haru," greeted Sokka. "You're late, too?" asked the blue-eyed teen, almost out of breath.

"Well, looks like it," he said, laughing. "Are you going to get the practice schedule?"

"Yeah, I got into the martial arts team," he said proudly as he continued along the path to the university's campus.

"That's good… I also got in, so we'll be teammates," said Haru, smiling as he waved to some of his friends that he saw sitting on the campus benches.

"Listen, Sokka, do you know the guy that's going to be our new captain? People tell me that he's really strict and has a difficult personality…"

"Yeah, I know him," Sokka said, bad-mannered. "He's a pain, although I should admit that he does fight really well… His name is Yamazaki Zuko. He's a Junior, and he's been in charge of the team practically from when he first set foot in the university."

"I see," Haru said, somewhat nervously. "I hope that we can get along with him… This Yamasaki makes me suspicious; it seems that he doesn't accept just anybody in his team…"

"Exactly, but it looks like he chose us, and it's completely his right to be demanding… After all, his trainer is his own uncle, Yamazaki Iroh. That man's a legend in the world of martial arts; in his years, he knew exactly how to dominate the field and perfect the art of fighting," said Sokka, noticing that the doors of the gym were already open.

"Really? I didn't know that he was related to Yamazaki Iroh," said Haru, stopping. The gym was an enormous building.

"Well… It's time for us to get to know this Zuko in person," said Sokka, laughing as he walked behind Haru. The path to the entrance was long and dark… Both boys ran up the path until they reached the locker room; the lights were already on, which appeared to both of them to be strange.

"I thought that Yamazaki was already here," said the blue-eyed teen, looking around, but all that was there was the two of them and the lockers. His breaths were rapid because of the run. "Well… looks like he's not here…"

"Maybe we should go… Amelia said that she wanted to talk to me, and I shouldn't be late… Let's go, Sokka," suggested Haru, going to the door and putting one of his hands on the cold handle.

"Or maybe you two should begin to apologize for your delay, you pair of idiots," said a masculine voice behind them. Haru felt a shiver run down his spine as he turned to find himself directly with Zuko. "Your other teammates have demonstrated more of an interest than you two… I finished talking with them about the basics ten minutes ago, and you two decide to show up just now… Well, I'm thankful that you two have decided to grace the gym with your presence."

Sokka continued to look at the teen defiantly. It hadn't been his fault that he was late… well, yes, it had, but Zuko didn't have any right to talk to them like this.

"I assume that you're Masahiko," he said, looking at Sokka. "And you must be Matsue." Yamazaki approached the two students, his expression decidedly angry. Zuko was a pale teen, tall and well-built, who always had his black hair tied up in a high ponytail. This morning, his means of dress was simple; he wore just a pair of pants and a dark red T-shirt under a jacket that he wore open. "I hope that you two are done talking about your social life and love life."

Yamazaki observed the two boys, like a lion surveing his prey before devouring it. Haru felt sweat begin to trail down his front as the blue-eyed boy tried to keep his gaze on the captain.

"Let me tell you two that it doesn't please me that you two show only a bit of commitment to the team. I don't want to see you two come late again; I won't hesitate to kick you off the team if I need to," he said angrily. "This is something serious, and I don't want you two to ignore it."

"Don't exaggerate, Yamazaki, we were only late a couple of minutes…"

"It'd be better if you don't use this kind of tone with me, Masahiko. I won't accept it if you disrespect me. I am the captain here, and what I decide, goes. And if I say that coming fifteen minutes late merits expulsion from the team, then that's how it'll be," said Zuko. "I'll give you two your schedules… Know that you're accepting a commitment with this. You'll need to go to all the practices in order to be ready for the next national competition. Don't embarrass me."

The amber-eyed teen took a pair of envelopes from one of the pockets of his jacket and gave one to each of them.

"Here are the dates and times… It's best if you two train hard," grumbled Zuko before looking from head to toe at the novices and leaving furiously through the door from which, seconds before, the two boys had entered.

The silence settled itself for a few minutes as the boys looked nervously at each other, then looked at the envelopes that they had in their hands.

"He's not that bad… or is he?"

"Be quiet, Haru," said Sokka irritably as he left the place, following his friend closely. Both boys continued their route through the university, talking about the practices that were coming up, because it was scheduled for them to practice on every day except for Sundays.

"Well, would you look at this… It seems as if Yamazaki has been a bit liberal with the practices, don't you think?" snorted Haru as he looked at the page with the schedule.

"No way…"

"Training on Monday at night, Tuesday in the afternoon, Wednesday after classes…"

"Thursday at night and Friday, too… Even on Saturday, he doesn't quit," grumbled Sokka, wrinkling his paper slightly.

"Looks like he needs a girlfriend, huh?" Haru joked.

"Yeah, definitely, though who would be the poor girl? I don't think there can be a girl in the whole world who would be able to tolerate him, what with that personality of his."

The two boys laughed as they arrived again on the campus.

"What do you say if we go and have breakfast, Sokka? I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten anything, and my stomach is growling."

"You too, Haru? What happened?"

"I didn't go grocery shopping, and I woke up on the weekend to find the refridgerator empty," he lamented as he put his hands in his pockets, pulling out a few bills. "We could go to eat at one of those cafés around here. Want to?"

"Sure, although afterwards, we should really go to the supermarket…"

"Good morning, Haru!" said a girl with wavy blonde hair, startling the two boys.

"Ahh… Hi, Amelia. How are you?" he said nervously, putting a hand on his neck, a definite sign of nervousness.

"I'm well, but, well… I…"

"Hi, Sokka!" said another girl arriving behind the blonde. Both of them wore the same clothing; the only difference between the girls was that the girl who had just arrived had black hair, almost bluish. "Listen, guys, did you hear?" she asked.

"Hi, Mina… What's up?"

"There's going to be a great party at Nameku's house; it'll be this Friday, and there'll be tons of food and drinks," said the girl as Amelia nodded, without taking her eyes off Haru. "Everyone's going to go, and I assure you that it'll be worth it."

"Ahh, I see…"

"And we'd like to go," she said, almost in a whisper, as her cheeks began to flush red. "I wanted to know if you guys could go with us… you know… l-like a date…"

Sokka tensed up immediately, seeing that Haru also looked genuinely uncomfortable in the girls' presence. "I don't know, Mina, we just got our schedule for the martial arts practices… and I'm afraid we can't. We have practice the entire week."

"Oh… Come on, Sokka, you guys can ditch one night… The captain won't notice that you're gone."

As if summoned by magic, the distant sound of a motorcycle was heard, attracting the notice of all four of them. Zuko had his helmet on over his head and had accelerated his motorcycle until it was behind the gym where both boys were standing. The roar of the motorcycle surprised the girls, who quickly moved out of the teen's way.

The motorcycle advanced up the pavement until it stopped before the boys. Still without turning off the engine, Zuko lifted the visor of his helmet to look snidely at the boys, who were trying with difficulty to look into those amber eyes.

"Don't screw up, Masahiko, Matsue," he said sternly before revving the again of his motorcycle again, then whizzing down the avenue.

"I think it's best if we leave…"

"Yeah, Haru's definitely right. We have to train hard, and I don't want to get on Yamazaki's bad side," Sokka added.

"Well, girls, we'll see you again," said Haru, practically dragging the blue-eyed boy down the path. The girls sighed, defeated, seeing how the boys had left them without an answer. But…

"Tomorrow's another day, right Amelia?"

"Of course, Mina." The two girls laughed knowingly, leaving the campus again.


Oblivious to everything else going on, in the teenager Masahiko's house, the telephone in the living room rang repeatedly, forcing Rezo to flee from the loud appliance.

The dog ran up the stairs, escaping from the room where the sound was concentrated the most, where he wouldn't be able to sleep in peace…

The final ring sounded; the answering machine then played its recorded message:

"Hello, you have called the Masahiko residence… I'm not at home right now; please leave your number and I'll return your call as soon as I can…"

"Sokka? Hi bro, it's Katara… How are you? What a pain, I didn't call when you were at home; surely you're out with some friends of yours. Well, it doesn't matter. I'm calling you to tell you that I'll be there soon… yeah, well… I'm returning to Tokyo for a few days, and I hope that you haven't messed up the house like I've imagined.

I'll be there within a couple of days, and I'd like for you to pick me up at the airport… Don't worry; I'll call you again to tell you the time of my flight. Right now, I'm packing my stuff, and Dad, like always, is concentrating on his work, ignoring me completely… I hope to see you soon, Sokka, and I hope that you're well and that you've fed Rezo well. I miss you, brother… Bye, see you soon."

The sound of the recording machine informed that the call had finished… The arrival of Katara surely would unbalance a few of Sokka's plans… there was no doubt about it.


To be continued…

Well, now as you all know, Katara's returning to Tokyo to see her brother, and some things will happen that will likely change her life. You see? XD I can't resist Zutara :P… Well, in conclusion, please leave me a review! XD They're vital for this fic to continue…

Kisses,

-Samara-Lestrange-


Translator's Notes: Sorry for the long delay in getting this done ; Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated; all reviews with be translated and forwarded to Samara. Also, I've had minimal time to edit this, so I would really appreciate it if you guys pointed out any mistakes I made, awkward sentences, etc. Thanks!